Hi, All,
I'm starting my first quarter of first year of doctoral study (PhD in Psychology) and just found out that I was assigned a class that meets 3 hours on a weeknight and another couple of hours on another weeknight for discussion each week. I will probably need to hold office hours on a weeknight also. Some other new grad students were assigned night classes. Daytime class T.A. positions seem to be occupied by more advanced grad students. Generally, I have no problem working nights or weekends. However, my toddlers are enrolled in the university's nursery school over 50 hours per week during the day time, while I'm taking my own classes and doing research. My husband is usually home one night per week, Thursday night, as he is a touring musician who works around the world. (He can't think of what he might do outside of his job and industry and doesn't want to switch). As things are scheduled now, my kids will be in "non-parental" care for 60 hours per week. They will see me on weekends and three weeknights per week and my husband just one night per week during most weeks. I'm concerned that they will feel like wards of the state. Furthermore, under the proposed schedule, yet more of my family's modest income will be sunk into child care.
I need to work as a T.A. or R.A. for 12 quarters in order to receive my fellowship, which covers tuition, and stipend for 4 years. Do you have any suggestions on what I might be able to do to fulfill this obligation while my kids are in nursery school? Should I just accept separation from my kids as a reality of grad school and not make waves?
It seems unlikely that one of the day time T.A.s of classes I can T.A. can and wants to trade. I don't think that my advisor has an R.A. position in mind for me this quarter. One of her more advanced students is her lab manager. (This student told me that this R.A. position is more time-consuming than T.A. positions--not necessarily a bad thing, but could be difficult as a mother/full-time grad student. Additionally, I'm not ready to be a lab manager at this point.) As I'm in my forties, I don't feel comfortable waiting any longer to work on a PhD. Also, I cannot or prefer not to go back to any of my old jobs (teaching junior/senior high school, doing quasi-financial analysis, doing quasi-software analysis in the military). I have degrees and/or credentials and experience in finance and the teaching of mathematics and English. I doubt that the university would let me T.A. courses in any of those fields to fulfill my obligation, but I am open to almost any option.
Thanks for any advice!
L
I'm starting my first quarter of first year of doctoral study (PhD in Psychology) and just found out that I was assigned a class that meets 3 hours on a weeknight and another couple of hours on another weeknight for discussion each week. I will probably need to hold office hours on a weeknight also. Some other new grad students were assigned night classes. Daytime class T.A. positions seem to be occupied by more advanced grad students. Generally, I have no problem working nights or weekends. However, my toddlers are enrolled in the university's nursery school over 50 hours per week during the day time, while I'm taking my own classes and doing research. My husband is usually home one night per week, Thursday night, as he is a touring musician who works around the world. (He can't think of what he might do outside of his job and industry and doesn't want to switch). As things are scheduled now, my kids will be in "non-parental" care for 60 hours per week. They will see me on weekends and three weeknights per week and my husband just one night per week during most weeks. I'm concerned that they will feel like wards of the state. Furthermore, under the proposed schedule, yet more of my family's modest income will be sunk into child care.
I need to work as a T.A. or R.A. for 12 quarters in order to receive my fellowship, which covers tuition, and stipend for 4 years. Do you have any suggestions on what I might be able to do to fulfill this obligation while my kids are in nursery school? Should I just accept separation from my kids as a reality of grad school and not make waves?
It seems unlikely that one of the day time T.A.s of classes I can T.A. can and wants to trade. I don't think that my advisor has an R.A. position in mind for me this quarter. One of her more advanced students is her lab manager. (This student told me that this R.A. position is more time-consuming than T.A. positions--not necessarily a bad thing, but could be difficult as a mother/full-time grad student. Additionally, I'm not ready to be a lab manager at this point.) As I'm in my forties, I don't feel comfortable waiting any longer to work on a PhD. Also, I cannot or prefer not to go back to any of my old jobs (teaching junior/senior high school, doing quasi-financial analysis, doing quasi-software analysis in the military). I have degrees and/or credentials and experience in finance and the teaching of mathematics and English. I doubt that the university would let me T.A. courses in any of those fields to fulfill my obligation, but I am open to almost any option.
Thanks for any advice!
L
